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THE GRIT
v c g c t a r i a n restaurant
199 prince avenue
706-543-6592 • thegrit.com
open 7 days
breakfast
brunch
lunch
dinner
dinner
mon-fri
sat-sun
mon-fri
sun-wed
th-sat
8am-l lam
10am-3pm
11am-5pm
5pm-9:30pm
5pm-l Opm
Voted Athens’ Favorite
Vcgrtariun Restaurant Sc
Uniquely Athens Restaurant
mmm
Lamp in a box (fcatariiiq The Beatles!)
458 E. Clayton St. • 706-543 4454
Mon-Sat 11-7pm • Sun12f6pm
SIGALAS
STUDIO.*,
call for your
personal appointment
S che duie^aniappjointTruentloiillite:
NEWS FROM THE JUICE BOX SET
sitting with a beer, and it's more welcoming
overall to a variety of ages.
2. Are the bathrooms tolerable? I'm never
expecting a germ-free environment, but
it's never fun when you walk into a bath
room with a child and bark out "Don't
touch ANYTHING." Never mind how this
may translate to the kitchen or behind the
bar. Walking into a disgusting bathroom
with a child is a lesson in keeping an eye
on everything, and I don't even consider
myself a germophobe. I'm sure some of the
moms walking around with hand sanitizer
see most bar bathrooms (OK, make that
ANY public bathroom) as the equivalent of
that bathroom in Trainspotting.
3. What’s the crowd like? There was one
point last football season when, in an
attempt to meet up for dinner, my three-
year-old and I walked through a downtown
bar to join my husband. He was out with
some other guys, and once I found him, we
would head out to dinner. Well, the minute
I hoisted Sofia on my shoulders to make
Depending on your stance on prohibition, it’s fun to bring your kids with you to hang at a bar—or it’s the devil’s
work. But in the right setting, it can be a positive experience. Four frosty pints of apple juice out of five.
I once had someone tell me they could
tell the quality of a supermarket not by the
freshness of the produce or how fast they
mopped up a spill, but by the cleanliness of
the bathrooms. And as a parent, you come to
appreciate this when you find yourself navi
gating the aisles as fast as possible to get to
one, all while pushing one of those horrid race
car-shaped carts (don't even get me started
on those).
This being Athens—and this being the time
of year when football season is right around
the corner—I find myself evaluating another
establishment based on the cleanliness of its
bathrooms: bars. Because, no matter how you
feel about football, there's probably going to
be a point when you either want to hang with
some childless friends or want to hang some
place where the adult-to-kid ratio is skewed in
your favor (or, just go downtown to gawk at
all the football fans). I got to thinking about
the bars my husband and I might go to with
our four-year-old, and it's a pretty short list.
But then, I started wondering—why? What is
it about one bar that makes it appropriate to
bring a child, but not another?
But wait, let's back up a minute. There
are other, decidedly more liberal places than
Georgia that have actually outlawed children
in bars. Thankfully, after a look through the
county's municipal code and a check with
Athens-Clarke Police, it turns out there are no
such restrictions on children in bars. If the
establishment is carding people at the door
they can, obviously, just not let the children
in. But as a parent, if you want to enjoy a fall
afternoon with a beer and a stroller, you're
allowed. (Whew!)
So, let's get back to what type of bar might
be considered "family-friendly," and which .
ones are best left to the kind of crowd that
can't even imagine a toddler in tow. I've put
together some handy-dandy tips for the next
time you're headed out. Feel free to cut and
paste on your fridge:
1. Does it serve food? Food seems to be the
great equalizer, following an informal poll
ing of my friends. If a bar serves some type
of food, it's infinitely more appropriate to
bring kids there. Obviously, this is border
ing on being a restaurant, but it gives kids
an option to nosh while the parents are
our way through the crowd, I knew it was
wrong. I felt like we had crashed a party
for middle-aged men who like the color red.
Lesson learned.
4. Don’t be annoying. By taking your child
to a bar you have to understand that you're
crossing that threshold into the world of
the childless again, so^you have to respect
that others didn't go to a bar to hear your
little one whine.
5. If you’re not sure, just ask. Above all else,
it never hurts to ask. Bouncers and bartend
ers are nice people (really!) and they have
a good sense of their clientele. So, if your
child will annoy their customers or possibly
break something, they'll let you know.
But above all else, go with your gut. It's
never cool when a parent continues to act like
a college student, years after they've bought
a house and had some kids. You're setting the
example, first and foremost. Just don't teach
your kids to dance on the tables, OK?
Tristen Morales kiddiedope@llagpole.com
10 FLAGPOLE.COM AUGUST 17, 2011
KRISTEN MORALES
